No organised gang behind missing children: Delhi Police

Delhi Police have finally started investigating the cases of missing children in East Delhi.

More than 100 children have gone missing from East Delhi since last year, while 20 children are missing from a single colony in the area since 2002.

“We are very concerned the moment a child goes missing and we register a case. In all 13 cases we have registered cases. Even in six cases where we knew it was elopement, we have registered cases. ACP (Assistant Commissioner of Police) of the district investigation unit is investigating it under the supervision of the DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police),” said New Delhi Region Joint Commissioner of Police Dharmender Kumar.

The most recent case is that of six teenagers who went missing on February 10 and were later traced to Gorakhpur.

The residents are scared to even send their children out to play. The area they say is a favoured spot for several criminals and there are at least 15 known offenders staying here.

While residents have no clue about how their children went missing, police officials say that there is no gang operating in the area and there is no similarity in the modus operandi either.

“We don’t think any gang or mafia is involved in this. It is definitely not a case of organized crime,” Delhi Police Commissioner YS Dadwal had earlier said.

While the police claim that in some cases, the teenagers who went missing, had eloped with lovers, many of the children who went missing are too young to have simply run away by themselves.

Though the police have promised to setup a helpline to deal with complaints of missing children, a simple call may simply not be enough.